Wide Lens

A lens with a short focal length that takes in a wider view than a standard lens. In full-frame terms it is roughly 14-35mm, and this site uses 24mm as its reference. The view is wide, so framing a person at the same size means getting close; near things look big, the background looks small and far, and depth is exaggerated. What makes the background look far is not the lens itself but the short distance between camera and person.

Camera position seen at an angle from above. The 24mm camera moves in to about 2.2 m from the character, and its field of view fans out wide.

Camera view. The character is the same size, but the blocks behind look small and spread apart, and a lot of the street comes in.

How it feels

Grandeur
Openness
Sense of space
Being there
Claustrophobia

When to use it

Showing the scale of a space, like a cathedral or a large interior
Fitting a lot into one frame, like a landscape or a group photo
Showing an entire small room at once
Showing where a character is, along with their surroundings
Combining with a low angle to emphasize scale and power together

In the movies

The Shining (1980) · Source: Movieclips (YouTube) · Original video

Citizen Kane 1941
Cinematographer Gregg Toland wrote that he used a 24mm lens for "extreme wide-angle effects". He stopped his 24-35mm wide lenses far down so almost everything from front to back stayed in focus.
The Favourite 2018
Cinematographer Robbie Ryan said wide lenses were key. He went as wide as 6mm to show both the splendor of the palace and how trapped the characters feel. 6mm is closer to ultra-wide or fisheye than an ordinary wide lens.

Not to be confused with

Wide Shot: A wide shot is a shot size where the person looks small in frame; wide angle is a lens. You can also get a wide shot from far away with a telephoto.
Fisheye: An ordinary wide lens is built to keep straight lines straight; a fisheye deliberately lets them bend round.
Zoom In/Out: A zoom out is a movement that widens the view during the shot; a wide lens is a state, fixed at a wide view.

Prompt

Keyword

wide-angle lens

Descriptive

Wide-angle lens, 24mm. The camera is close to the subject, so the foreground looks large and the street behind stretches far away, with a lot of the surroundings in frame.

Try these combinations

Wide lens + large interior: the scale of a space
Wide-angle lens shot of a grand cathedral interior, a lone figure standing in the center, emphasizing its soaring arches
Wide lens + low angle: scale and power
Low angle wide-angle shot, 24mm, a hero standing close to the camera on a city street, tall buildings stretching away behind